Courtesy of WKU Athletics
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – WKU Football shut out Sam Houston in the second half and pulled away for a 31-14 win on Wednesday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in Conference USA play.
WKU scored on the game’s opening drive to take an early lead. The Hilltoppers capped off a seven-play, 65-yard drive with a 17-yard reception by River Helms on a pass from Caden Veltkamp. Sam Houston tied the game with a 37-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter.
WKU began its game-breaking run with 2:59 left in the first half. Veltkamp connected with Elijah Young on an 11-yard pass. WKU extended its lead with a 74-yard touchdown reception by K.D. Hutchinson off a pass from Veltkamp. The quarterback capped off the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run with 9:31 to play. The play was set up by a fumble recovery from Zach Edwards.
WKU is 3-0 in CUSA play for the first time since the 2019 season. They started that season – Tyson Helton’s first leading the program – with a 4-0 mark in league play.
Veltkamp threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing, and added 27 yards and a touchdown rushing. It was Veltkamp’s third game this season throwing for at least three touchdowns. It was Veltkamp’s fifth rushing touchdown of the season and the second straight game he has recorded a rushing touchdown. It is his fourth game this season with at least one passing and one rushing touchdown.
Former Glasgow standout Dalvin Smith caught three passes for 28 yards.
“I thought it was a great team win tonight. This is a tough place to go on the road and get a win like we did. The first half was a total back-and-forth battle like I expected and then slowly but surely in the second half we were able to make some big plays. Defense had a big turnover in their area, we get it back. Just a great team win and this is the time of the year where you need these wins. When you go on the road, it says a lot about our football team. We get to recover a little bit, we get a bye, so that’s good. We’ve got some bumps and bruises. Guys need to heal. But sitting in a good position,” said Head Coach Tyson Helton.
The Hilltoppers will be off until Oct. 30, when they host Kennesaw State in a Black Out game. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. There will be a free Flo Rida pregame concert on South Lawn starting at 5 p.m. CT.
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